Guitars & Granola Bars

As we head into the final weeks of 2020, Jaime and I are checking in with each other to compare notes on our families, businesses, and alllll the feelings during this holiday season. In this episode, we share the highs and lows of business ownership right now, and talk about how we are planning ahead (or not) and handling the transition into a new year. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

We are now 8 months into the COVID-19 pandemic; that makes 8 months of pivoting, adapting, and overcoming challenges both at home and at work. I'm checking in once again with co-host Jaime Lawrence, owner of Harmony Garden Music Therapy Services, and we're sharing updates on family life, business ownership, and ourselves in general as we continue to be affected on all fronts by the pandemic. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

A lot has changed since I last spoke with my co-host, Jaime Lawrence (owner of Harmony Garden Music Therapy), back in April. The pandemic is still in full force, which has greatly impacted just about every aspect of our lives. In this follow-up episode, we're discussing the current state of our businesses since reopening our physical doors, and we also tackle the very timely issue of returning to school. Jaime and I both share our families' decisions for our own children. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

It's been over a year since I released an episode of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast, but when my co-host from last season, Jaime Lawrence, suggested recording one to chat about how we are managing during this global pandemic, I was immediately on board. In this special COVID-19 edition of the podcast, we talk about how we have pivoted our businesses, the ways in which we are providing services, and what life with kids at home 24/7 looks like. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

This is the final episode in our current season, during which I’ve been so lucky to have Jaime Lawrence as a co-host. I hope you’ve enjoyed her added perspective here on the podcast just as much as I have! Since we’re making our way towards the end of 2018, Jaime and I thought it would be fun to share our favorite accomplishments of the year, both personally and professionally. This was such a fun episode to record, and it made me excited to think about all that I want to accomplish in 2019. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

Halloween is coming, and we are ready! So of course we had to dedicate an entire episode to how we celebrate this special day at home -- including decorations, our family’s costumes, and favorite traditions -- and at work -- the songs we sing, how we integrate Halloween into our groups and sessions, and ways we get festive in our workplaces. To be honest, Halloween is not my favorite day of the year, as I share in the episode, but when you have kids and work with children, you really just have to embrace it. If you’re like me, I hope this episode helps you do that, and if you are already a Halloween enthusiast, then you’ll be even more pumped up after listening! Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

This week, Jaime and I are sharing our favorite working mom “hacks” -- big and little ways in which we’ve discovered make life just a little bit easier, both in terms of work and home. We actually ran out of time recording this episode, and have already planned a part 2 so that we can give you the rest of our hacks. In the meantime, we hope you find these just as helpful to your life as they are to ours! Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

As we approach the fall season, Jaime and I are both busy preparing for new sessions of our early childhood music classes. Since this topic is top of mind for us right now, we thought we’d take this opportunity to do a deep dive into our role as early childhood music class instructors. In this episode, we talk about what led us to providing these classes, the evolution of them within our business, how we’ve grown enrollment over the years, and how we handle the tough issues that come up. As you can imagine, we have a whole lot to say on this topic! Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

We talk pretty often here on the podcast about running our own businesses and the challenges associated with it. One of the BIGGEST challenges is being a boss -- deciding when the time is right to grow our team, conducting interviews, completing the hiring process, and then managing a team. In this week’s episode, we tackle this tough subject matter and share our own experiences when it comes to being bosses. We also touch on some typically taboo topics, including how we pay our employees, how much we pay for our business space, and more. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

This week’s topic was a no-brainer for two moms who also work with school-aged children. It’s back to school time, which comes with a whole lot of excitement, overwhelm, challenges, and planning. In this episode, I’m talking about what it’s like as a total newbie with my son getting ready to start kindergarten, and Jaime gives a whole lot of great advice having been through the back-to-school transition a couple times already. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

I never fully appreciated the proverb “necessity is the mother of invention” until I became a business owner. It didn’t take long to realize that there are busy seasons in a private practice and teaching studio, and then there are slow seasons. Very, very slow seasons. Summer just happens to be the slowest of all, which has made it absolutely necessary to create new revenue streams in the form of programs, classes, and online courses. In this episode, Jaime and I are talking all about the opportunities we’ve created in our businesses...what’s worked, what’s completely failed, lessons we’ve learned, and how we’ve been able to fill in the gaps during otherwise slow seasons. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thank you for listening!

In Episode 70, Jaime and I are chatting all about the evolution of our musical lives: where we got our start as musicians, how we made music before becoming music therapists and before having kids, and how things have changed throughout the years since. How does music play a role in YOUR life outside of your work? Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at https://guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thanks so much for listening!

This week it’s just me, recording a solo episode for the first time since the beginning of the summer. I’ve been having so much fun chatting with my co-host, Jaime, and I hope you’ve been enjoying our episodes together, too. But in today’s episode, I want to address a topic that I haven’t talked much about publicly, hence this week’s title. The confession I’m about to make is one that I’ve held back from sharing because honestly, I’ve been a little scared to, especially amongst my fellow music therapists. I’ve been putting it off for a while, but I feel like there’s no better time than now. I started this podcast because I wanted a place to have honest conversations about the intersection of my professional and personal lives, and that’s exactly what today’s episode is. Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thanks so much for listening!

A common theme of summer is TRAVEL. It’s one of my favorite things to do, but it can also be a bit stressful, whether you’re traveling with or without your family. In this episode of the podcast, Jaime and I are talking all about how we handle both kinds of travel -- as moms and as business owners. Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thanks so much for listening!

There is a whole lot of crossover when it comes to being both a music therapist and a mom...especially when you teach early childhood classes and have young children. Jaime and I can check both of those boxes, and have a whole lot of experience playing both the role of music class teacher and mom at the same time. In Episode 67 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast, we talk all about having our own kids attend our music classes: the benefits, the drawbacks, the funny and memorable moments. This episode is a fun one whether or not you’ve played these dual roles yourself! Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thanks so much for listening!

Fun fact: both my co-host Jaime and I are total "Disney people" and have been from an early age. As a result, Disney has played a huge role in our lives, from taking Disney vacations, to using Disney songs in our music therapy and early childhood work, to sharing the love with our own children. In Episode 66 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast, we talk about our favorite ways to incorporate Disney music into our classes and sessions along with our favorite personal Disney experiences. Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. Thanks so much for listening!

Children’s books play a huge role in both our work as music therapists and our home life with our own kids. In Episode 65 of the podcast, Jaime and I talk about how we put them to use with our young students and clients, and also how they fit into our family lives. Additionally, we discuss our favorite children’s books for both settings, all of which we’ve compiled in a list just for you as a free download. Visit https://listenlearnmusic.com/ggb65 to grab our list of must-have children's books for work and home!

Summer can be a tricky time for working moms. Our school-aged kids are out of school, everyone’s schedules are out of wack, and life as we know it goes a little haywire. In this episode, Jaime and I talk about our plans for this summer and how we tackle this time of year in order to stay productive, keep everyone happy, and have fun (a tall order, we know). Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at http://guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. You can also find me on Instagram, @rachelrambach and @listenlearnmusic. I would love to connect with you!

Let me introduce you to the newest voice of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast! In this episode, I ask Jaime allllll the questions so that you can get to know her better. She fills us in on her professional background, family life, favorite life hacks for working moms, and much more. Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at https://guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. You can also find me on Instagram, @rachelrambach and @listenlearnmusic. I would love to connect with you!

Thank you so much for joining me here on Guitars & Granola Bars. I’m your host, Rachel Rambach, and this podcast is for women like me who are balancing a career they love with being a mom. If you’ve been a listener of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast in the past, then you know it’s been a hot minute since I recorded a new episode. This has always been a passion project for me, and I wanted to wait until I had the time and space to do this right. Good news: that time is now! In this episode, I talk about my plans for the podcast and share an exciting announcement. It's going to be an exciting season, and I'm so glad you're along for the ride! Let's continue the conversation in the comments of the show notes page over at https://guitarsandgranolabars.com or you can always email me, rachel@listenlearnmusic.com. You can also find me on Instagram, @rachelrambach and @listenlearnmusic. I would love to connect with you!